Device for balanced homogenization of air and liquid fuel mixtures in internal combustion engines

ABSTRACT

The carburetor of an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle has an idle-running jet and an air-fuel homogenizing chamber, an electrically operated fuel-admitting valve for the idle-running jet and a cam on the shaft of the air throttle of the carburetor, also an electric contact for actuating the fueladmitting valve in connection with the clutch pedal of the wheels. The accelerator pedal of the vehicle has also an electric contact, whereby the two contacts are arranged electrically in parallel for opening the fuel-admitting valve and whereby the contact controlled by the cam closes as soon as the air throttle opens and remains closed for any opening position of the air throttle.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Rene Beuteleux 2,035,237 3/1936Kushinsky 123/97 B 5 rue, Dulong, Rouen, Seine Maritime, 3,374,9913/1968 Walker..... 261/DIG. 19 France 3,455,260 7/1969 Mennesson 123/97B 15;} 9555' 533331969 mRmNPATEN Patented Dec. 28,1971 261,022 10/1927Great Britain 26l/DIG. 19

Primary ExaminerTim R. Miles Attorney-Sparrow and Sparrow [54] DEVICEFOR BALANCED I-IOMOGENIZATION OF AIR AND LIQUID FUEL MIXTURES ININTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES ABSTRACT: The carburetor of an internalcombustion en- 3 Claims, 1 Drawing Fig. gine of a motor vehicle has anidle-running jet and an air-fuel homogenizing chamber, an electricallyoperated fuel-ad- [52] [1.8. CI 1B; qg valve for [he idledunning j and aCam 9 the Shaft of 51 Int. Cl F02m 1122 of a l elem"? Field of Search23/97 actuating the fuel-admitting valve in connection with the 261/1);19 4 clutch pedal of the wheels. The accelerator pedal of the vehiclehas also an electric contact, whereby the two contacts are [56]Reerences Cited arranged electrically in parallel for opening thefuel-admitting UNITED STATES PATENTS valve and whereby the contactcontrolled by the cam closes as i 486 555 3/l924 wikfeld 48/180 soonasthe ant: tlhrot tlelopenls and remains closed for any openr a I a ngpos t on o I e an! e H7 114 I15 m e l a L I {W 106 as 101 2 "3; 103 H Ifi m9 000 l 10 DEVICE FOR BALANCED HOMOGENIZATION OF AIR AND LIQUID FUELMIXTURES IN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES The purpose of the presentinvention is to bring certain improvements to the device forhomogenizing the mixture of air and liquid fuel for an internalcombustion engine, said device being described in my US. Pat. No.3,414,242 and in my patent application Ser. No. 727,591 filed on May 8,1968, and now abandoned.

According to the structures described in the said patent and patentapplication, the inlet of fuel to the idle-running jet is open when thespeed of rotation of the engine is lower than a determined value or incase of an acceleration of the engine. It is eventually the sameconcerning the inlet of fuel to the normal-running jet. Consequently incase of a deceleration the said jets are closed as long as the speed ofrotation of the engine has not sufiiciently slowed down. This closing,although favorable to a lessening of the toxicity of the exhaust gasesand to a reduction of fuel consumption, has yet a drawback, i.e., thetemporary and more or less complete emptying of the admission pipes ofthe fuel mixture. If, at that moment, the engine must be rapidlyaccelerated in order to pick up its rotation speed, there is in thiscase a risk, i.e., a stoppage of the engine due to the lack or shortageof fuel in its admission pipe. This drawback is specially to beregretted when the engine is the engine of a vehicle and when thepicking-up which is wanted, occurs when there is a changing of gears.

in order to remedy this drawback, the control of the clutch placedbetween the engine, equipped with the carburetor associated with thehomogenization device, and the gearbox actuated by this engine, isprovided according to the invention with a means keeping open the inletof fuel to the idle-running jet when the said control is actuated in thedirection of the declutching when there is a changing of gear.

According to the invention, the inlet of fuel to the idlerunningjet isopen or closed by an electrovalve, the opening of which is ensured by acontact push placed on the pedal constituting the control of the clutch.

According to another improvement, an electric contact actuating at itsclosing the electrovalve of the idle-running jet to ensure the fuelfeeding of this jet, is controlled by a cam supported by the axle of theair throttle of the carburetor equipped with the device, this contactbeing electrically parallel with the contact of the accelerator pedalacting on the air throttle, the contact controlled by the cam closing assoon as the air throttle opens and remaining closed for any openingposition of the air throttle.

As an example and to facilitate the understanding of the invention, adescription is given below of particular embodiments of the invention,one of which is represented diagrammatically and in a nonlimitative wayon the sole FlGURE of the drawing herein attached.

According to the invention, the idle-running jet of the carburetorassociated with the homogenization device, is provided with a memberpermitting to open and close the inlet of fuel to thisjet.

This member is controlled, on the one hand, by a device sensitive to therotation speed of the engine equipped with the homogenization deviceand, on the other hand, by another device maintaining the said member inan opening position when the butterfly valve of the carburetor isactuated in the direction of its opening in order to accelerate theengine.

According to the invention, the control of the clutch, placed betweenthe engine and the gearbox actuated by the said engine, is provided witha means, maintaining in an opening position the member opening orclosing the inlet of the fuel to the idle-running jet when the saidcontrol is actuated in the direction of the declutching when there is achange of gears. In the customary case of the clutch of a self-propelledvehicle, the said control is constituted by a pedal which is pressedupon 7 for declutching; therefore the pressing on this pedal will bemechanically used or, preferably, electrically to ensure the inletoffuel to the idle-runningjet.

For this purpose, the member opening or closing the inlet of fuel to theidle-running jet may be constituted by an electrovalve. The pedalensuring the declutching is then provided with a contact push which,being pressed by the foot at the time of declutching, sends current tothe electrovalve to feed the idle-runningjet with fuel.

The use of an electric contact on the accelerator pedal is advantageous,as it permits an immediate operation of the idlerunning jet as soon asan acceleration is undertaken. However with practically constant speed,for instance if the engine actuates a vehicle moving on an approximatelyhorizontal road, the pressing of the foot on the accelerator pedal maybe uncertain and, in any case, is perturbed by the jolts of the road. Itresults in openings or closings of the contact of the accelerator pedaland consequently in closings or openings of the idlerunningjet causingan unstable operation of the engine.

In order to remedy this drawback, the following device is used.

As is known, the air throttle 101 of the carburetor 102, equipped withthe device, is integral with a rotating axle 103 actuated by a lever104. The lever 104 is itself actuated by the accelerator pedal 105 bymeans of a rod 106 hinged on the lever and on the pedal. A spring 107brings back the air throttle 101 towards its closing position. Theaccelerator pedal 105 is provided with a contact 108 closed by thepressing of the foot on a push 109 when the pedal 105 is pressed in thedirection of the arrow 110 corresponding to the opening of the airthrottle 101, i.e., to the acceleration of the engine fed by v thecarburetor 102. The closingof the contact 108 closes an electric circuitcomprising an appropriate electric source connected with terminals 111,112, conductors 113, 114, and an electrovalve 116 placed on the inlet ofthe fuel to the idlerunning jet of the carburetor 102; the closing ofthe contact 108 opens the inlet of the fuel to thisjet.

According to the invention, another contact 117 is connected to theconductors 11.4, 115, the contacts 108 and 117 being connected inparallel. The contact 117 is actuated by a push 118 actuated by a cam119 integral with the axle 103 of the air throttle 101. The cam 119 isdesigned so that the contact 117, open when the air throttle 101 isclosed, closes as soon as the air throttle 101 opens under the action ofthe accelerator pedal 105 and remains closed for any opening position ofsaid air throttle. The contact 117 being thus closed, it is obvious thatthe contact 108 becomes inoperative and that the variations of thepressing of the foot on the push 109, due to the jolts for instance,remain ineffective as regards the operation of the electrovalve 116 andof the idle-running jet fed by this electrovalve.

As has been previously stated, the electric circuit of the electrovalve116 may also be closed by the contact 120 of the tachometric relay 121receiving in 122 the indication of the rotation speed of the engine fedby the carburetor 102; this circuit may also be closed by the contact123 closed by the pressing of the foot on the push 124 when the clutchpedal 125 is pressed in the direction of the arrow 126.

It is obvious that the invention is not limited to the aforesaid methodsof application and realization and that it also comprises any of itsvariants.

What 1 claim is:

1. A device for homogenizing the mixture of air and a liquid fuel, saidmixture fed into an internal combustion engine from a carburetor havingan air throttle, said device comprising a homogenizing chambercommunicating with the atmosphere by adjustable channels and aperforated cone-shaped diaphragm, the idle-running jet of thecarburetor, associated with the device, being provided with a memberopening or closing the inlet of fuel to this jet, the control of theclutch placed between the engine, equipped with the said carburetor, andthe gearbox actuated by this engine being provided with a means keepingopen the inlet of fuel to the idle-running jet when the said control isactuated in the direction of the declutching when there is a changing ofgear.

or closing the inlet of fuel to this jet, an electric contact actuatingat its closing the said electrovalve to ensure the fuel feeding ofthisjet, the said contact being controlled by a cam supported by theaxle of the air throttle of the said carburetor, this contact beingelectrically parallel with a contact on the accelerator pedal acting onthe air throttle, the contact controlled by the cam closing as soon asthe air throttle opens and remaining closed for any opening position ofthis air throttle.

* ra rs

1. A device for homogenizing the mixture of air and a liquid fuel, saidmixture fed into an internal combustion engine from a carburetor havingan air throttle, said device comprising a homogenizing chambercommunicating with the atmosphere by adjustable channels and aperforated cone-shaped diaphragm, the idle-running jet of thecarburetor, associated with the device, being provided with a memberopening or closing the inlet of fuel to this jet, the control of theclutch placed between the engine, equipped with the said carburetor, andthe gearbox actuated by this engine being provided with a means keepingopen the inlet of fuel to the idle-running jet when the said control isactuated in the direction of the declutching when there is a changing ofgear.
 2. A device as defined in claim 1, said member being anelectrovalve the opening of which is ensured by a contact push placed onthe pedal constituting the control of the clutch.
 3. A device forhomogenizing the mixture of air and a liquid fuel, said mixture fed intoan internal combustion engine from a carburetor having an air throttle,said device comprising a homogenizing chamber communicating with theatmosphere by adjustable channels and a perforated cone-shapeddiaphragm, the idle-running jet of the carburetor, associated with thedevice, being provided with an electrovalve opening or closing the inletof fuel to this jet, an electric contact actuating at its closing thesaid electrovalve to ensure the fuel feeding of this jet, the saidcontact being controlled by a cam supported by the axle of the airthrottle of the said carburetor, this contact being electricallyparallel with a contact on the accelerator pedal acting on the airthrottle, the contact controlled by the cam closing as soon as the airthrottle opens and remaining closed for any opening position of this airthrottle.